Car insurance cancelled due to wrong occupation

Kshah786

As the title says my car insurance was cancelled due to my occupation bieng wrong.

3 weeks ago i took out car insurance with a broker Go skippy. I got insurance with them. However i had not changed my occupation on the comparison website. I had previously wrote down graphic designer. However when getting a new quote i didnt change this. A week later i got asked to prove my occupation details and i sent in my current employment letter without any issues. I then rang them to ask if they had received my email. Go skippy said that they need proof of graphic designer i said thats is an old job and it needs changing over. They said they will put me through the indemnity team which was Eldon insurance. Eldon insurance told me that this is not an issue because there was confusion and a small mistake on my side for not updating my comparison profile. She said that its not a big issue and that all they have to do is let the Underwritter Southern rock know and for them to update the details. I may have to pay or get a refund if the job title affects the premium. She said that it can take upto a week to update. This was 2 days ago.
I have just had an email from go skippy saying the underwriters have cancelled my policy. The office is now closed so i need to call tomorrow.
In this time while this was going on. My sister is the named driver and she drove into someone and wrote the car off. The other party is claiming injury and car repair. I am so stressed right now. I dont know what to do.
I spoke to the FSA and they said it is a bit extreme to cancel the policy over an occupation. He advised me to complain to Eldon and Go skippy and see what they say. If i am still not happy i will have to tell the FSA again.

Thanks

P.s sorry if it is too much reading and grammer is terrible.

dacouch

It is very unlikely they have back dated the cancellation.

The policy which is basically a contract, will have a section on how they and you can cancel the policy. It is almost certain that for them to cancel the policy they need to give you notice in writing giving you seven days notice.

Have you ever been a graphic designer and what is your current occupation?

molerat

What is your current occupation ? That may have been the reason, there are many occupations that insurers will not touch.

Kshah786

I was an graphic designer many years ago worked from home. Its still on my profile i think. They emailed me to give them proof of graphic designer but i told them and sent them thaylt it was an error..i am currently and auto electrician working for Jaguar Landrover. I have sent them this proof.

dacouch

They may have entered you as an Auto Electrician in the motor trade, whilst this is true, most Insurers would regard you as an auto electrician working in a factory.

Some Insurers do not like the motor trade.

It may also be that they are unhappy as they believe you intentionally miss led them.

Make sure they are aware you are a skilled factory worker.

Read your policy booklet under the section of cancellations, they are obliged to abide by the CONTRACTUAL term they state in there for how many days notice they have to give you. For obvious reasons, an Insurer cannot back date a cancellation except in very exceptional circumstances (Which your case is very unlikely to hit the criteria for).

You will be shocked when you google who the owner of the Insurer and broker is...

Kshah786

Arron Banks. Ohh myyy.....
So when you mean they cant back date my insurance do you mean they still have to pay me out with the claim. Because god forbid i have to fork out money for other partys whiplash, car repair and also my car repair.
Yes i did tell them am a skilled factory auto electrician. When i spoke to eldon insurance she confirmed that they cover auto electricians. She said this is not a major issue.
I just hope its all a miscommunication between southern rock . Eldon and go skippy.
Ive just paid 2100 upfront for insurance also.
I will have a lool now through my pdf booklet.

Kshah786

Policy validation
Sometimes we ask customers to provide evidence when taking out their policy, this is to protect customers from fraud and is an industry standard so it is important any items requested are sent to us promptly. If we ask for:

proof of your address or occupation, this is required within 14 days of the request
your driving license details or proof of no claims entitlement, this is required within 21 days of your policy start date
Failure to provide the information requested, may result in the cancellation of your policy and the charges shown in our Terms of Business will then apply.

Kshah786

cumentary Evidence
To provide you with competitive prices and to combat fraudulent applications and claims our insurer partners
may require us to validate driving licences and proof of No Claims Discount on their behalf. Failure to provide
us with this evidence, if requested to do so, within 21 days of the start date of your policy will result in your
insurance policy being cancelled. If your policy is cancelled for this reason, we will calculate any refund of
premium in accordance with the !!!8216;Cancelling your Insurance!!!8217; section of this document. Further details of what
we require from you is available at https://www.goskippy.com/validations/

dacouch

There is a specific section in the policy wording (From the Insurer not the broker) about how you or they can cancel. If they cancel it will state that they have to give you seven days notice in writing. This is a contractual term eg they cannot just tell you the Insurance is cancelled immediately or from a date in the past.

I would be surprised (Although it is not impossible) that they would not cover auto electricians. If they would normally cover your correct occupation and you have not intentionally miss led them to obtain a cheaper quote eg you did not run quotes through on the correct occupation and then change it to graphic designer when you realised it was cheaper. But instead had just not updated your occupation in the comparison website details then you will probably have a very good case with the Ombudsman.

Bear in mind they will have a computer record of any previous quotes you have obtained so will know if you changed your occupation.

So...they cannot back date the cancellation, so the claim will be covered.

However when an Insurer pays a claim, they retain the entire years premium so you will be liable for the entire premium.

You also need to understand that having a policy cancelled is very bad for your Insurance record and will cause future premiums to rocket.

If they go down the cancellation route, I would recommend you make an official complaint and then take it to the Ombudsman. Assuming there is nothing you have not told us I think the ombudsman would rule in your favour (Assuming they cover auto electricians). If the ombudsman rules in your favour they will require the Insurer / broker to put you back in the same finanacial position as if they had not made the mistake. SO it is important you keep a record of all additional expenses you incur eg how much extra it cost you to re insure the vehicle etc.

I suggest you request a full record from the Insurer and broker of everything they have on you. This should give you the phone conversation where they told you auto electrician is not a problem. Also obtain a quote with exactly the same Insurer (Not broker) with all the same details as before the accident but with auto electrican as your occupation and take copies of this (Use false details to obtain this quote eg different email and a neighboors post code). This will all help you should the case go to the Ombudsman.

Give them a ring and ask them exactly what they are doing now eg whether they are paying the claim and on what date they intend to cancel the policy (Remember they have to give seven days notice in writing)

dacouch

I suspect there is more to this story as they specifically asked you about your correct occupation which is fairly unusual unless they had cross checked it against a database

BoGoF

dacouch wrote: »

I suspect there is more to this story as they specifically asked you about your correct occupation which is fairly unusual unless they had cross checked it against a database

Agreed.

I hope for OP's sake they weren't on comparison site comparing the price difference between the 2 occupations and went with cheapest.